The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for data communication and, more particularly, to systems and methods for validating data tracking metrics associated with interactive events related to advertisements.
In today's information age, targeted marketing efforts are increasingly tied to electronic communications. To provide customized and targeted advertising, many electronic devices, such as cell phones and personal web-enabled devices, are configured to provide user data to an advertising server or system. An electronic device can, for example, store a user profile that defines the user's interests, demographics, and the like. A web browser running on an electronic device can also track the advertisements viewed by the user and the user's purchase decisions. When properly equipped with a GPS or other location system, an electronic device can also track the user's location. All of this information can be used to provide targeted advertisements for the user. This data can also be used to monitor impressions. For example the data could include information regarding the number of times an advertisement is presented to potential customers and user actions in response to advertisements, such as activations of a “click to” function to access additional information related to an advertisement. Such data can be used to improve or personalize future advertisements or to bill advertisers based on advertisement usage.
In addition to targeted marketing methods, electronic communications are increasingly being used in “viral advertising”. Viral advertising is a sophisticated form of “word of mouth” advertising that seeks to exploit existing social networks among individuals by prompting the recipient of an advertising message, encounter, or impression to relay a marketing message to other consumers. In viral marketing, a nucleus target market is identified and then radiates outward in ever-larger marketing spirals. The ease with which messages and information can be forwarded to many individuals from just one member, particularly through the internet, makes viral marketing through electronic communications extremely effective. To maximize the effectiveness of a viral marketing campaign, however, it is desirable to track usage, identify recipients who are most likely to relay marketing messages to others, and then to direct encounters toward these recipients.
In the mobile communications domain, it can be difficult to track advertising. This is true with traditional advertising and, particularly so with respect to viral advertising. For example, because the interactive capabilities of a mobile device application, the transmission of advertising content between consumers may not include all of the interactive capabilities found in advertising content. That is, a “click to email” link provided in advertising content delivered to a mobile device such as a cellular phone that does not have email capabilities cannot be used by the application. Alternatively, a mobile device may include interactive capabilities that are not supported by the content provider. When a mismatch of this type occurs, the ability to transfer the advertising message is hindered, and, in some cases, false tracking data may be acquired.
While a number of tracking metrics are presently available for mobile electronic devices, these metrics do not provide feedback to consistently monitor many types of forwarding and saving operations that are available in electronic communication devices. Conventional tracking mechanisms, moreover, cannot verify the interactive capabilities of either content provided by service providers, or personal communications devices. Known tracking metrics, therefore, are insufficient to maximize the productivity of targeted and viral marketing methods. Furthermore, there is no protocol for verifying any data received from such devices and; therefore, any metrics utilized may be inaccurate or misleading. Not only are inaccurate metrics and data significantly less useful for tailoring and focusing advertising, they may have significant financial consequences, for example, when an advertiser is charged based on inaccurate information.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a system and method for tracking and verifying interactive events relating to advertisements on mobile devices.